Today we’d like to introduce you to Krysten Coldsmith.
Hi Krysten, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been a storyteller, but becoming an author was about more than simply writing a book. It was about finally having the courage to create something that was completely mine.
I’m the author of The Forgotten Magic Chronicles, a romantic fantasy series built around magic, soulmates, Romani-inspired folklore, werewolves, history, and, at its heart, the freedom to choose who you are meant to become. What started as an idea grew into an entire world—and eventually into something much bigger than I ever imagined.
I self-published Forgotten Magic and Awakened Magic, and I’m now continuing to expand the series with Eternal Magic, Black Wolf Rising, and the books that follow like Black Wolf’s Call and Bloodbound Magic. Along the way, I’ve built an incredible community of readers, ARC reviewers, fellow authors, and people who have genuinely fallen in love with these characters alongside me.
One of the most surreal parts of this journey has been watching something that once existed only in my imagination become tangible—seeing the books in readers’ hands, designing special editions and sprayed edges, attending author events, and hearing from readers who connected with the story.
I’m still building this career and learning as I go, but I think that is part of what makes this chapter so exciting. I’m watching a dream turn into something real in real time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of my biggest challenges has been learning that there is a tremendous difference between writing a book and building a career as an author.
As an independent author, you become so much more than the person writing the story. You’re also learning publishing, marketing, social media, events, reader engagement, branding, editing, production, and the business side of putting your work into the world. There have absolutely been moments when I’ve questioned myself or wondered whether I was doing things the “right” way.
I’ve also had to learn to be comfortable with rejection and uncertainty. Publishing requires you to put something incredibly personal in front of strangers and allow them to decide what they think of it. Not everyone will connect with your work, and not every opportunity will work out.
But those challenges have also changed me. I’ve learned to take the feedback that helps me grow, let go of what doesn’t, and keep moving forward. I would rather take the risk of creating something I believe in than spend my life wondering what could have happened if I had tried.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an author and the creator of The Forgotten Magic Chronicles, a romantic fantasy series that combines magic, romance, history, folklore, werewolves, and the idea that love and destiny don’t necessarily have to take away our freedom to choose.
What I love most about this series is that the world extends beyond the pages. I put a lot of thought into the entire reader experience—from the covers and sprayed edges to ARC boxes, merchandise, character details, reader groups, and special events. I want opening one of my books to feel like stepping into another world.
I’m currently expanding The Forgotten Magic Chronicles while continuing to grow my author platform and reader community. One of the things I’m most proud of is creating the Forgotten Magic Inner Circle, my ARC reader community. Seeing readers become invested enough in this world to advocate for the books, discuss the characters, and anticipate what comes next has been incredibly rewarding.
For me, being an author isn’t only about selling books. It’s about creating stories people can escape into and building a community around the magic those stories create.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is courage, freedom, and connection.
There’s a line that has become especially meaningful to me: “Have the courage to be free and the freedom to have courage.” In many ways, that idea represents both my books and my own journey as an author. I actually have that on two different tattoos. That is a personal montra .
My characters are constantly confronted with questions about destiny, identity, love, family, and whether the path laid out for them is truly the path they want to choose. I think those are questions many of us face in our own lives, even without the magic and werewolves.
I want my readers to walk away from my stories believing that they are allowed to choose their own next chapter. And I want the community surrounding my books to be a place where people can be enthusiastic, imaginative, a little unconventional, and completely themselves.
At the end of the day, I hope I’m building more than a collection of books. I hope I’m building a world people are excited to return to—and reminding them that sometimes the bravest thing we can do is choose our own story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Krystencoldsmith.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkrystencoldsmith?stkn=MTlmcWtuMTk2aHFyMQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18aGr7tyQY/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystencoldsmith
